A Christmas of Lasts

Wow! So has it really been since June when I posted last? SO much has happened since then. Let's see, I am officially on a track this year. YAY! Basically that means that every 9 weeks I get a 3 week break. Charlie is immensely jealous of this luxury. Trust me, it's one of the few perks of being a teacher. Over our first track out we took a cruise! It was amazing! I had every intention of doing a post or seven about our trip and never got around to it. Oh well. Maybe one day. In October, Charlie got a raise only to get a promotion to Marketing Manager a few weeks ago! I am so proud of him! He has really moved up the corporate ladder since starting at the AICPA just 3 years ago. In October, we spent a few days in October when my wonderful MawMaw passed away. I should do a whole post on her as well. She is missed so much. In November, we took an awesome camping trip with friends and we spent Thanksgiving in Charlotte with PawPaw. Okay, so enough of an update, time for the real reason of this post...



A Christmas of Lasts.



It dawned on me as I was writing in Charlie's Christmas card that this will be a "last" Christmas for us in so many ways.



First, and most importantly, it will be our last Christmas alone. We are thrilled to announce that in August we will become a family of three! After many months of trying, lots of tears and prayers, and help from the Dr. we are finally expecting our first child. We couldn't be more excited about the news. We have had the luxury of seeing our baby twice via ultrasound and look forward to watching him or her grow in my belly over the next few months.



This of course leads to the last Christmas in our apartment. One bedroom isn't going to be big enough for all of us! Our lease isn't up until November of next year. We'll be sticking out the first few months of our new family in tight quarters. We aren't really concerned about this. Our biggest worry is where we will store all the baby stuff until we move somewhere bigger! There's been some discussion of turning the dining room into a semi-nursery for the first few months. We'll see. We have lots of time to figure it out. We love this apartment. We truly feel that it was a blessing from God to get this apartment and will be sad to move away. We used to joke that we could live here forever. I'm sure under the right set of circumstances we could.



And our last Christmas last...Scooter. This will be our last Christmas with Scooter, our dog. This is more of a sadder part of the post. Charlie will be very disheartened to say goodbye. Over the last few months Scooter has continued to show that he can't be trusted. He bit me one night which led to much pain! We realize that as parents we could never put our child in that danger. We would only blame ourselves if he ever bit the baby. So included in our preparations for baby will be looking for a new home for Scooter. If you know of anyone that could give him a home, please let us know.



It really is a bittersweet Christmas. We are more than ecstatic about what the future holds for us. The last year and a half of marriage has been incredible. As much as I look forward to our growing family, I will miss all of the the alone time we have. It's such a sweet time in our lives. We had a great day staying warm inside. It's nice not to have to be anywhere or attend to anyone's needs. I realize that our life together is about to change greatly. We will spending the next 7 months enjoying every second of each other, our pregnancy, and the blessings that God has given us.



So much is in store for 2011. We'll keep you posted!

One Year!

So I really don't get around to blogging much! Obviously. Tomorrow is our first anniversary! It's amazing how quickly the past year has gone. It's been a great year too! Here's a few highlights of our year...

June 27, 2009...We're married!

July 2009...Honeymoon in Banner Elk, NC. We enjoyed a wonderful week together in a great secluded one room cabin. It was great and I'm really looking forward to going back one day!

October 2009...Employed! I accepted a job as a teacher's assistant hoping it would turn into something more. This was all a sigh of relief to Charlie to have the extra income and to really be able to start putting a dent in our Student Loans!

November 2009...Our first Thanksgiving! We stayed home ALONE and it was lovely! I cooked way too much food! We also enjoyed a weekend of camping at Jordan Lake. The nights were COLD, but great for cuddling in the tent!

December 2009...Christmas! Once again, another holiday alone. We did visit family before and after the holidays, but Christmas morning was ours alone. This month was also my birthday. We celebrated with a fancy dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and a shopping trip for new clothes.

January 2010...My teacher assistant job turned into a full-time teaching job! Due to overcrowding in the school system they were able to create new classrooms. It was wonderful to have my own classroom again.

February 2010...Happy Birthday Charlie! We were snowed in for his birthday. Celebratory cuddles on the couch!

May 2010...My contract was renewed! Yay! A little piece of mind!

June 2010...Cruise! We booked our first cruise this month. It's supposed to be for our anniversary, but we can't go until August when I finally get a break from school. We're both really looking forward to this one.

We're celebrating tonight with a big, fancy dinner at the Angus Barn. It's amazing how quickly the past year has flown by. Everyday has been better than I could have dreamed married life would be!

Just a note

So I don't get around to blogging much. This doesn't surprise you because I haven't written anything in a while. I really don't have time to write at this moment, but I'm going to anyway! No new pictures or anything new to really report. Just a little about thankfulness, grace, and love.

I'm listening to Charlie's music. Something I love to do and wish I did daily. Sometimes his songs make me sad. Mostly the ones before me because I know his story and I don't like thinking about his broken heart. But today I realize his music is a blessing. He has a song called "Don't give me what I want". It's a song to God. The lyrics...

Don't give me what I want
Give me what I need
Don't give me what I wish for
Just help to believe
Cause I know that you're plans
They are what's best for me

I am so thankful that this happened in Charlie's life and mine as well. We both went through periods in our lives where we desperately wanted something that we knew wasn't God's will for us. If God has given us those things I know that we wouldn't have met, fallen in love, and married one another. Charlie is a wonderful husband. He is more amazing than any husband I imagined existed. I never knew a man could love me so much and that he would be just as excited as being married to me as I am him. He's a sweetheart and perfect for me.

I can think of numerous times in my own life where I was disobedient to God or questioned what he was doing with my life. I didn't want to trust. I even tried to run the other way. I now know that his plan is what's best for me. If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would be living the life I am today I never would have believed you. I would have pictured something totally different. And I am so grateful for what my life is. It's exactly as it should be.

People tell me how happy they are for me and that I "deserve it". I know this is just a saying, but the truth is, I don't deserve any of it. It is only by the grace of God that I have the life I have today. In fact, I'm so undeserving, that I can't even remember to thank God daily for what he's given me! I am more than thankful to Christ for Charlie and the life he has given us together.

So, that's it. Just a note. Sorry if you were looking for an update. The only one I have is that we're still busy and madly in love. I'm off to cook dinner and get ready for a sleepover with my niece and nephew.

If you want to check out Charlie's music click on the button on the right for his blog.

Charlie.

I don't get around to blogging much on our personal site. My food blog is constantly updated...but here...not so much! I find that we are a very busy couple, which is interesting for 2 introverted people, yet we never do anything interesting enough to blog about. I do have some Christmas pictures to post. We had a great first Christmas together. I'll follow up with a post about that later. But now, I want to tell you about Charlie, my dear, sweet husband.

I feel overabundantly blessed that God chose me to be Charlie's wife. He is more than I ever dreamed for or imagined. I prayed and prayed for a husband for a very long time. One of my major goals in life was to be a wife. I was terrified it would never happen for me. I'm sure my friends were tired of hearing me whine about it. I even began to pray that if God had chosen the single lifestyle for me that he would change my heart.

And then, I met Charlie. It's amazing that we even met. As introverted as we both were, we were never really in situations where we would meet anyone. Neither one of us was into the bar scene, nor were we bold enough to talk to a random stranger in public. We're both terrible flirts. Basically, if I didn't meet someone at church or work it was never going to happen! And I was an elementary school teacher...not very many men in that profession! You all know how Charlie and I met through my brother. I couldn't be more grateful.

We were very quick to fall in love and some people may say we "rushed". I think we both had people telling us to slow down. We said "I love you" after 3 days together, were engaged after 4 months, and married within 9. And the truth is, everything was perfect! I knew right away that he was the man God had picked for me. I couldn't wait to be his wife and spend everyday together. He is my blessing.

I have never had a man adore me the way Charlie does. Now I understand why my family and friends tried so hard to get me away from guys in the past. He loves me just as I am. He doesn't try to change me or even get upset me when I'm being "me". You know, the crazy, emotional, hard to please, me. When I cry, he holds me, kisses my tears, and tries to find a way to make it better. He talks to me about the Bible, prays with me, and pulls me closer to God. When I am being a gossip or judgemental, he gently reminds to turn to Jesus. He makes me laugh daily. I love how we can sit in the car, hold hands, and not even have to say anything.

I have never once doubted where I stood with Charlie. I know when he looks at me that he adores me. And when I worry about us ever being able to have children, I know that he isn't worried. I am enough for him. Yet he continues to pray because he knows how much it means to me. In the middle of the night, if I get out of bed, he wakes up and calls for me. He spoils me for no particular reason because he loves me. He makes my heart beat fast and I love kissing him when he walks in the door.

I love Charlie just as much today as I did on our 3rd date, even more. Not once have I questioned how quickly we got married or worried that I was making the wrong decision. He is a gift from God to me and for that I couldn't be more grateful.

Merry Christmas!

Our tree is up and decorated, our cards are mailed out, and the shopping has begun!

We like our tree, but we realize it is decorated very ugly! It's a tree that only we could love :)

New Pictures

Krystal took our pictures a couple weekends ago at Pullen Park. They're beautiful! Here's a sampling!

Our First Thanksgiving

We had our first Thanksgiving dinner at home as a married couple yesterday! I made all the food and it was absolutely delicious! It was a ton of work though, especially for 2 people! We have so much to be thankful for! Here's our menu...

Brined Turkey
Mashed Potatoes
Cinnamon Apples
Stuffing
Cranberry Sauce
Hawaiian Rolls
Banana Pudding Trifle

Check out my food blog later this week for the recipes!


We also got our first Christmas tree today! It's beautiful and looks great in our apartment! Stay tuned for a decorated pic...all the decorations I had are in storage at my parent's house! So we can't decorate until after next weekend!